by Jennifer Greenstein Altmann

The award honors American architects whose work is characterized by a strong personal direction. Allen was one of two architects to receive the award, which will be presented May 20 at the academy's annual ceremony in New York City.

Models and renderings by the winners will be featured in an exhibition on view from May 21 through June 14 in the academy's galleries on Audubon Terrace in New York.

Allen, who earned a master of architecture degree from Princeton in 1988, was named dean of architecture in 2002. A practicing architect, he has worked to connect the theoretical and practical aspects of the discipline, focusing specifically on incorporating advanced computing capacities into the curriculum.

In addition to the academy award, Allen recently received several other prizes. He was given one of four Progressive Architecture Awards from Architect Magazine for a project involving the redesign of the Yan Ping waterfront in Taipei, Taiwan.

He also recently received a Design Award from the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects for his work on the Chosen Children's Village Chapel in Tagaytay, Philippines, a unique structure built to withstand extreme climate conditions and serve as a home environment for physically and mentally challenged children. And the Cooper Union Alumni Association gave Allen the 2009 John Hejduk Award, honoring an alumnus of the Irwin Chanin School of Architecture at Cooper Union who has made an outstanding contribution to the theory, teaching or practice of architecture.